


A twist of fate

by sadgaymermaids



Series: spirit slumber party [1]
Category: Vampire Academy Series - Richelle Mead
Genre: BAMF Rose Hathaway, Dimitri never went to america, Everyone is of age, F/M, Gen, Ivan is a spirit user, Ivan never died, and there are no teacher student dynamics, because I said so, because unfair power dynamics in relationships is not sexy kids, but like we been knew, just minus dimitri, the first three books still happened, the gang goes to russia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:36:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 17,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27783847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sadgaymermaids/pseuds/sadgaymermaids
Summary: Ivan never died. And so Dimitri never travelled to America and Rose and Lissa faced their final year at school alone. (The first three books still happened just without Dimitri.) After finishing their hellish final year at St. Vladamirs Rose becomes Lissa's official guardian. They move to Court where Lissa has been studying Spirit for the past few months with the help of Adrian. She finds another Sprit user, a Zeklos lord, in Russia and manages to convince the queen to let her and her friends visit him for an extended period of time. So Lissa, Rose, Adrian and Eddie pack their bags and head to Russia. There they meet the charming Ivan Zeklos and the stoic Dimitri Belikov. They dive into the world of spirit and all the crazy things it can do. Will it be enough to save themselves when disaster strikes?
Relationships: Dimitri Belikov/Rose Hathaway, Eddie Castile & Rose Hathaway, Ivan Zeklos & Dimitri Beliklov, Lissa Dragomir & Adrain Ivashkov & Ivan Zeklos, Lissa Dragomir & Rose Hathaway, Rose Hathaway & Mark, Rose Hathaway & Sonya Karp
Series: spirit slumber party [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2032594
Comments: 29
Kudos: 87





	1. Chapter 1

I stood at the back of the large room the queen took counsel in, back straight, blank expression on my face, watching the room carefully. The ornate hall was mostly empty except for the periodic guardians along the walls and three moroi talking at the front. Queen Tatianna sat on her throne, looking regal and stern as always. Standing in front of her were my best friend Lissa and my sort of ex Adrian. Ex was really a generous term, we had hooked up a few times but neither had any real feelings beyond friendship for each other. 

“We’ll be near Omsk, by the academy too, nothing will happen out there.” Adrian was explaining to his aunt.

“It’ll be a great opportunity, we’ll get to learn even more about Spirit,” Lissa added on.

I could feel her emotions coursing through the bond as she smiled sweetly at the queen. She pushed a bit of compulsion into the smile.

“Alright, but you will have to report back your findings. It will be official court business." The queen relented.

Lissa’s excitement flooded through the bond. After graduating from the hellish experience that was highschool she had thrown herself into research about Spirit. She had finally found someone, another user, a Zeklos lord in Russia. She then convinced Adrian to help her convince the queen to let them go. 

“How long will you be gone?” She asked.

“Oh uh-” Lissa faltered slightly, she hadn’t gotten that far in her plan. “A couple months at least.”

“Very well, we’ll start with a couple months then continue if we need to.” The queen sighed. “You leave in a week.” Her voice held a note of finality which meant they were dismissed.

Lissa and Adrian turned and walked towards the exit I was next to. Lissa caught my eye and grinned at me, excited, I rolled my eyes back at her. Though she knew I was as excited about this trip as her. I fell into step next to her as they passed, Eddie, Adrian’s guardian and one of my good friends, on the other side. We walked out of the room before Lissa started excitedly chatting next to me. 

Her excitement was infectious. Her eyes lit up as she talked about all the things they could learn. She was obviously passionate about what she was talking about, almost bouncing as she walked. She was rambling about her ideas as we made our way towards her apartment on the court campuses. 

When we got to the building Adrian and Eddie in different directions. Eddie had a shift at the gate and Adrian was probably going to the bar on the edge of the campus. I nodded to them both as they left then followed Lissa up to her apartment. 

She shared her apartment with her boyfriend Christian who ran classes in offensive magic with a friend of ours Mia and his aunt Tasha. The two were disgustingly in love and only served to remind me of my own lonely love life. I loved them both dearly though, the type of love that only came from facing trauma together and coming out the other side. 

It was actually Tasha that had told us about the Zeklos lord we were about to fly across the world to meet. She had been friends with him in school, and if her wistful smiles were anything to go by, more than friends. 

Lissa had been emailing back and forth with him for a bit they had agreed on actually meeting being the best way to learn together.

“Oh, Rose. I’m so excited. We’ll get to learn so much!” Lissa gushed as they entered her apartment.

I did my customary sweep of the place before joining her in the living room. She had her laptop in her lap and was typing something. I sat down next to her and read over her shoulder. She was writing an email. 

“You telling Lord Zeklos we’re coming to the Spirit Sleepover?” I asked.

“He has a name you know, it’s Ivan.” 

“Yeah, whatever.” 

“His guardian’s famous too. That one dude, what was his name? Beli-something.”

“Belikov?” I straightened up at this.

“Yeah, that one. Weren’t you obsessed with him in school?”

“Yeah because he’s a legend. They call him a god.”

Dimitri Belikov was almost as infamous as me. Though unlike me he was known for good reasons. Not having kidnapped the last of the Dragomirs for a couple years. I had done more since then but most people still only knew me as the crazy novice that took the princess out of the academy.

“See you’ll have someone to talk about your nerdy guardian things while I’m working. And Eddie’s coming. It’ll be fun.” Lissa turned to me.

“It’ll be great Liss. Doesn’t mean I have to like the cold.”

She laughed at this and turned back to the laptop in front of her. She continued typing for a few minutes before my alarm went off. I had a shift starting soon and had just enough time to eat before.

“Shit I have to go, but I’ll see you tomorrow," I told Lissa, pulling her into a sideways hug.

“I’ll see you.” She said absentmindedly, then called after me as I left. “And start packing!”

I shut the door and made my way out of the building. I crossed campus and went into the dhampir dining hall. It was still early in the vampire evening so I was able to quickly get a sandwich. I stood looking around the room and saw Eddie sitting at a table near the windows. I crossed the room and sat down across from him. He looked up and smiled as I sat down. 

“Excited to be shipped off to Russia for the next couple months?” Eddie asked.

“Not excited about the cold, but Liss is so excited, it’s kind of infectious.”

“That’s true. You can deny it all you want but you’re excited too.” He teased.

“I mean yeah, maybe they’ll be able to know more about all this.” I gestured vaguely to my head, Eddie nodded in understanding. “And you know the Zeklos Lord? His guardian is Belikov.”

“Shit, really?” Eddie looked excited at that.

“Yeah, maybe he’ll teach us some of his godlike ways,” I said with a grin.

We finished our respective meals and went our separate ways. I headed to my shift watching over one of the royals' domestic buildings. One of the perks of working at Court was that I didn’t have to be on guard all the time. We were scheduled shifts working different places on the large campus but had a lot of free time to do with as we pleased. 

I passed my shift wandering the halls, and letting my mind wander to what the next couple months had in store for me. Eddie was right, I was excited on my own to learn about Spirit and possibly the weird connection between me and Lissa. And of course, anything that made Lissa excited made me excited too. It would also be nice to get out of Court. We’d been here since we graduated. Going from one secure location to the next. I knew it was only because of Lissa’s status as the last Dragomir, but I was still happy to get away from the monotonous life of the royals.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang arrives in Russia.

The week passed in a bit of a blur. Packing, guardian shifts, working out our travel schedule and who would be coming with us, brushing up on our Russian. Lissa, Adrian, Eddie and I would be travelling with a couple court guardians that would help with our scheduling once we arrived as well. We were meeting the Zeklos lord where he lived on the outskirts of a small human town in Russia. 

We sat on a Court jet as it flew over the ocean. I sat next to the window, Lissa beside me. I leaned my head on the window and tried to sleep for a bit. It would be the end of the vampire day when we arrived, the sun would be coming up. I tried to get comfortable and eventually felt myself drifting off.

I was woken a couple hours later by Lissa gently shaking my shoulder.

“We’re landing soon.” She smiled at me, affection flooding through the bond.

I made some noise of agreement as I looked around. The court guardians were having a hushed conversation in the back of the plane, Eddie was watching out the window, and Adrian was sipping on something alcoholic. He winked at me when he noticed me watching, I stuck my tongue out in response then watched out the window. We were flying over what looked to be a lot of forest but there was a large city coming into view. 

The city got closer until we were right above it. We passed over, getting lower as we got close to the airport. The landing strip came into view and I watched the ground get closer and closer, and then there was a bump as we finally hit the ground. 

The captain came over the pa system and thanked us for the flight. We rolled into the smaller building a ways off from the main airport. Moroi society had its own airport customs and security, so we could bypass the human one. 

We managed to get through security fairly quickly, we were on official business with a couple of royals. We got a large car with tinted windows for our drive to the small town we were staying in. The two court guardians sat in the back, I don’t think they had slept on the plane so they were hopefully going to now. The moroi were in the middle, talking quietly to each other. Eddie drove and I sat in the passenger seat watching the road. 

The two-hour drive to the place we were staying passed fairly quickly, I spent most of my time zoning out staring out the window, only helping Eddie navigate a few times. We pulled to a stop in front of a large house. It was three stories, not as extravagant as some of the royal houses I had seen but would easily be able to accommodate all of us. 

I got out of the car and stretched my back, twisting until it popped. I then went and got my and Lissa’s bags from the trunk. I carefully smoothed my rumpled clothing and made sure my hair was still in place. Our group walked up to the door and stood for a second before knocking. Eddie stood at the front of the group, right by the door, the two court guardians had spread out a bit and stood farther back, on the sidewalk watching, I stood behind the moroi. I squared my shoulders, planting my feet, and slipping on my guardian mask.

The door opened and there stood a tall man. He had chin length brown hair and was dressed in a simple jeans and t-shirt. He scanned the group of us, our eyes meeting for the briefest second. His eyes were deep and soulful, they were a dark brown that was captivating. He was incredibly tall and all lean muscle. In short, he was incredibly attractive.

“You must be our guests.” He said, accent colouring his words. He nodded once to himself then stepped back. “Come in.”

“Dimka, stop scaring the poor things.” A voice called from inside the house. 

Eddie entered first, Adrian and Lissa following, I went next, shouldering my bag and dragging Lissa’s behind me, the court guardians bringing up the rear. The house was as big on the inside as the outside showed. We had entered a large entrance room with a large coatrack. 

The tall man had moved to stand next to a shorter man, he had curly blonde hair and sharp blue eyes. He reminded me a bit of Jesse, a royal boy I had flirted with him a bit in school, even once made out, until he spread rumours of me being a blood whore. This Zeklos though seemed to have a more welcoming than predatory smile as he watched us enter. 

“Hello and welcome to my home.” He welcomed us once we were all in the room. “I am Ivan Zeklos, please just call me Ivan though. This is my guardian, Dimitri Belikov.” He introduced, perfect royal manners seeping in.

“I’m so glad to finally meet you.” Lissa gushed beside me, her excitement flowing through the bond. She had been raised with the same rules and manners as the man.

“Princess Vassilissa Dragomir, Prince Adrian Ivashvov.” Ivan greets them both.

“Oh god don’t remind me,” Adrian says grinning.

“Please call me Lissa,” Lissa says, still caught up in the formalities of royal life. Adrian seems to have no such qualms.

“No need for such formalities at the Spirit Slumberparty, as Rose so aptly put it,” Adrian explained, putting an arm over my shoulders. I just rolled my eyes at his antics, not completely at ease yet. 

This drew the eyes of the two russian men. I smiled politely at both of them.

“Rosemarie Hathaway.” I introduced myself. Ivan studied me for a second, eyes going wide before he nodded and looked towards the other guardians in the room. 

Eddie introduced himself, then the two court guardians, Luke and Isla. I felt kind of bad since I had never bothered to learn their names before now. I vaguely recognized them from around Court but they were a few years older than me and I had never really talked to them. 

Once everyone had introduced themselves Ivan spoke up again.

“Well everyone take off your things, come on we’ll give you a tour.” 

I left my coat on the hook, taking my silver stake from the pocket and slipping into the small sheath for it on my belt. I then slipped off my shoes and left them next to the others by the door. 

Lissa came up next to me as we stood and waited for everyone. I picked up our luggage once again and followed Ivan and Belikov upstairs. They showed us first to our rooms. Lissa and I had connected rooms next to each other with a shared bathroom, as did Adrian and Eddie. Luke and Isla each had separate rooms. 

Next, we went to the main floor. There was a large kitchen with a connected feeder room, though instead of real feeders they had blood bags in a fridge. There was a fancy-looking dining room that looked like it was barely used. Finally a spacious living room with a large fireplace on one wall and couches and chairs around it. There was a battered book laying on a small end table, a look at the cover revealed that it was an old cowboy western novel. I smiled slightly at the sight, it was hard to imagine either of the men reading something like that.

Finally, we went to the basement. It was as large and spacious as the other floors. There was a small laundry room by the stairs. The rest of the basement looked to be a large library/study. Shelves of books stood along the walls as well as a large table in the center. In the back, there was a small gym, with a punching bag and some weights. It was nothing like the gyms at Court or the Academy but it was pretty nice.

“This is where we’ll be working the most,” Ivan explained, looking at the moroi. “I’ve been collecting my own notes and research on Spirit for a while but I haven’t met others in a long time.”


	3. Chapter 3

Ivan, Lissa and Adrian immediately launched into a discussion about magic. Belikov waved the guardians over to a corner of the room.

“We have wards set up, outside around the perimeter, they get renewed every few weeks by some local moroi and Ivan. We don’t usually have too many strigoi around, being so close to the dhampir towns.” He explained.

“I want to do a full search of the house and perimeter,” I said, looking at the rest of the guardians.

“Be my guest,” Belikov said with a slight laugh.

I made eye contact with Eddie and he nodded at me. We turned to the other two guardians and they must have understood because they stepped back and took positions around the room with Belikov. 

I could feel eyes on me as I walked through the room but I ignored them, I had a job to do. Eddie and I checked the windows and looked for any other potential exits in the basement before moving to the next floor and doing the same. We checked every room in the house, each exit and window. After the disaster that had happened senior year, we had both become extra careful about these things. 

After we had carefully checked the house we put on our jackets and shoes and went back outside. The sun was high in the sky, it felt nice on my skin and I revelled in it for a few seconds. We walked around the house, again noting the exits and any weak points in the house. We then walked out to the wards and walked the perimeter to check them. Everything seemed in check, Belikov had his reputation for a reason, he didn’t skimp on his protection despite being the only one living here with his charge. It was not uncommon for moroi to only have one guardian but typically royals had multiple. 

Once both Eddie and I were satisfied with the house we entered again. I checked with Lissa and found they were still in the basement. We went back downstairs and I sat at the table next to Lissa. I nodded towards the court guardians along the wall.

“Go get some sleep, you’re taking the nightshift.” 

They both nodded and smiled then left the room. I would go wake them up in a few hours for their shift. There were five guardians and three moroi, we didn’t all have to be on duty at all times. 

Adrian and Ivan seemed to be teaching Lissa to see auras. She sat concentrating next to me, trying to open her consciousness to see what vibes we were giving off.

“Ugh, this is hopeless.” She sighed.

“It’s easier with people you know.” Ivan coached. “You’re more in touch with their emotions.”

Lissa turned to me and focussed, I tried to look open and inviting. She focussed, calling up a bit of magic with it. Then she gasped, she had gotten a glimpse of my aura, just a quick second. I saw it in her head, it was a soft blue colour but with a ring of black that looked out of place surrounding it.

“Huh,” I whispered.

“Always thought I was lying, little dhampir?” Adrian asked in a slightly mocking tone.

“I just never knew what it looked like.” I shrugged. It was slightly unnerving to see your own aura, but I had seen weirder.

“Try again,” Ivan said looking at Lissa.

She turned to me again and tried to replicate the thing she did before. She managed to pull up my aura again and this time she could hold onto it. She could watch it glimmer slightly, fascinated. After about a minute she dropped it with a sigh. 

She felt proud of herself for being able to do it finally. She also felt kind of unnerved at all the black there was. And guilty, she felt it was her fault for causing it. I reached out and squeezed her hand under the table. She turned to me and I smiled, I tried to put my reassurance and trust in her into it.

“Okay now that you got Rose, try someone else.” Adrian prompted.

Lissa now turned to him and concentrated on what she did with me again. Adrian’s aura was different from mine. It was a bright gold colour with spots of darkness, similar to mine but less consuming. She managed to hold it for a couple minutes before dropping it. 

“Good.” Ivan congratulated her.

I could feel the toll the magic was taking on her already and quickly took the headache that was forming away. It hit me, with a wave of sharp emotions, I suddenly felt angry and annoyed. I pushed down the feelings, reminding myself they weren’t real. I looked up to see Ivan staring at me, he nudged Adrian and gestured between me and Lissa.

“What?” I asked, slightly sharply.

“You just took the darkness?” Ivan said, it sounded like a question.

“Yeah,” I said, irritability still bubbling under my skin. I could feel everyone in the room now watching. “It’s not that much, I mean she’s not using that much magic.”

He watched me curious for a second then turned to Belikov who was still standing on the wall, by the door. He spoke to him in Russian. They had a short conversation that I was half able to follow. Something about calling someone and it taking them a whole day to get out here and there being people like them. After Belikov turned and looked at me with a similar expression that Ivan had given me then nodded and left the room.

Ivan turned back to Lissa and with Adrian’s help, prompted her to continue trying to read auras. After a couple hours, she had managed to do it to everyone in the room. They continued talking about magic after that for another hour. 

I had zoned out of their conversation after Lissa had stopped using magic. I realized that this is what every day was going to be like and there was very little reason to have all the guardians constantly watching them at all times. The basement was also quite secure, with only one entrance and small windows high on the walls.

I stole a piece of paper and pen from the table and drew up a quick schedule for the week. There would be three shifts; morning, afternoon and night. There would have to be two people on guard at all times, during the day one would stay with the moroi while the others walked the perimeter. The night would be trickier, it would be light out, therefore, harder to walk around outside, we were surrounded by humans who would probably find it odd to see someone just walking the perimeter of a house all day. Our schedule was a bit messed up at the moment as we would all be going to bed around the human noon today. Though within a couple of days we would be on full vampire time. Strigoi wouldn’t be an issue in the day, our night, so we could simply have people up and watching the exits.

Finally, after hours of talk, the moroi decided it was time for dinner. The group of us made our way up to the kitchen. The moroi excused themselves to the small connected room as the rest of us guardians sat at the table. I presented the schedule I had made earlier.

“I made a rough schedule,” I said looking up at the other two. “At least two people on watch at all times, three shifts,” I explained to them the idea I’d come up with over the past hour. “It would be easier if we had six but we’ll figure it out.” 

Eddie nodded along to my explanation and quickly wrote his name in a few spots on the makeshift calendar I’d made up.

“We’ll put it on the fridge that way we can all know when we have to be on guard. Like a chore chart.” He grinned at me, I rolled my eyes at him.

We looked over at Belikov, who had remained silent through my entire explanation. He smiled slightly at us and nodded. 

“We can colour code it.” I stared at him for a second before realizing he was adding on to Eddie’s comment about chore charts. I laughed, Eddie catching on a second later. Belikov’s smile grew into a full-blown grin. It lit up his entire face, eyes sparkling with mischief. 

Before I could fire back at either of them, the moroi came back into the room. All of us stopped laughing and put back the guardian mask. We were still on duty, guarding royals. Even if they were our best friends, we couldn’t be as open and carefree around them, especially not on duty. They came first and sometimes that meant putting our own fun on hold.

“Well don’t let us break up your party.” Ivan said, grinning towards his guardian.

“What’s for dinner?” Adrian asked.

Lissa came and sat next to me and leaned her head on my shoulder. I checked her through the bond but she seemed fairly calm still. 

“You okay?” I whispered.

“Yeah, are you?” She asked.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You took the darkness.” I sighed at this.

“Liss we can’t keep having the same argument, I’m fine. That was one time, I have a better handle on it now. Besides, maybe in all your fancy magic research, you’ll learn something about how to help it.” It was her turn to sigh this time.

“I know, I still feel bad though.”

“It’s not your fault. It’s my choice.” Mostly.

Ivan and Belikov worked together to make a large pasta dish, even making enough for the other two guardians. They would be woken up after dinner and would be on guard for a few hours while we slept. It wasn’t ideal, whoever had the night shift would have to sleep through the day but it was our duty and all of us were prepared to do it. 

The meal was made fairly quickly and we sat around the kitchen table to eat. It was odd, even when we were supposed to be relaxed, simply eating dinner the guardians were on edge. I started first, quickly eating my meal in a few minutes. I then looked up at Belikov sitting diagonally across from me and nodded. He took that as his queue to start eating, all the while Eddie took small bites, watching the room. 

The moroi didn’t even seem to notice, but it was ingrained in us, to always be on guard. Always have one eye out for danger. Especially those of us who did one on one guardianship with our charge. We never let our guard down. 

Was I paranoid? Probably. But after everything I had gone through, by myself and with Lissa, I was bound to be. I put her protection above everything else. She was my best friend and I wasn’t entirely sure I could live without her. I’d heard the stories, Shadowkissed Anna killed herself. Was I bound to the same fate?

I was pulled out of my head by Lissa tapping my arm. I turned to her and she smiled. You look all serious when you think. Lissa was sometimes able to do this, project a single thought towards, more like a one-sided conversation than me simply watching her mind. I rolled my eyes at her.

“I’m fine just thinking too much,” I said quietly so only she could hear.

“Stop worrying, we’ll be fine.”

“It’s my job to worry Liss.”

She watched me for a second before she was pulled into a conversation with Adrian next to her. I looked up, doing my scan of the room and found Belikov watching me. He quickly averted his eyes and pretends he was simply watching the room but I was fairly sure he had been watching me.

He had perfected his guardian mask over the years, a blank look on his face. I could see his emotions hiding behind it though. He had brown eyes, that in the lighting looked dark, almost black. I wanted to get lost in those eyes. His hair was long, kept up in a short ponytail, and looked incredibly soft. 

Suddenly Belikov was staring right at me again. He had caught me staring. It was my turn to turn away quickly. I went back to watching the room and spent the rest of dinner pointedly not looking back at him.


	4. Chapter 4

After dinner, Lissa went up to her room to call Christian and Eddie went to wake up the other two guardians to start their shift. Adrian, Ivan, Belikov and I all went to the living room and sat on the plush couches. Adrian sat next to me, draping himself across the couch in his typical way. I pushed him off me to the other side of the couch. 

“You wound me. Rip out my heart and stomp all over it.” He put his hand over his heart dramatically.

“Well payback for when you did it to me,” I said rolling my eyes, but a smile was playing at my lips. Adrian gasped in mock offence.

“Was it not me that took you out to a nice dinner and told you how wonderful you were?”

“Yes, and then you told me you were in love with another girl.”

“It’s because you’re too good for me, little dhampir.”

We were cut off by Eddie reentering the room. He came and sat between me and Adrian, effectively cutting off our conversation.

“Would anyone like a drink?” Ivan asked he was standing near a small bar cart in the corner. Adrian immediately agreed, Eddie also decided on a rum and coke, it seemed spending so much time with Adrian had rubbed off on him. When Ivan turned to me I simply shook my head. 

Everyone got their drinks and sat down, I could feel Lissa’s contentment through the bond. She was happily talking to Christian and would come join us after. Everyone fell into conversation around me. Adrian and Ivan had started a conversation with Ivan. The only other person who was quiet was Belikov, but he didn’t seem like the conversational type. I sat back content to just watch the scene. 

I was tired. I had a shift before our flight and had barely managed a couple hours of sleep on the plane. Though I had easily worked through worse my day of travel was catching up to me. 

After a few minutes, Lissa came downstairs. She sat in a chair next to my side of the couch and smiled at me.

“How’s Christian?” I asked.

“Good, he got some new students today. An air user and two earth users.” 

“Ooh fancy. Have they managed to get teachers for them yet?”

“I don’t think so but Mia might have found someone for air.” She then turned to the rest of the room. “Tasha Ozera says hi.” She called to Ivan across the room, he immediately turned to her.

“You know Tasha?” He asked, eyes lighting up the same way Tasha’s had. Definitely more than friends.

“Considering I’m dating her nephew, yes.” Lissa smiled like she always did when talking about Christian.

“Ah, Christian right?” Ivan asked, pulling Lissa into a conversation about the Ozeras.

I could say with full honesty that I loved Christian Ozera. Not in a romantic way. God, no. More like a brother. Our relationship had a bit of a rough start but after he had helped save a group of us from a couple of strigoi, and then been my mock charge for our final assignment at the academy, we had warmed up to each other. He was smart and passionate and had the same sarcastic sense of humour as me. We teased each other mercilessly but it was all from a place of trust and affection. He was also surprisingly good at giving heartfelt gifts. 

I think he understood my confliction about killing strigoi too. Maybe not as well as another guardian but pretty well for a moroi. He had been there when I had killed my first two. And he knew what it was like to stare into the eyes of people you once knew and see them ringed with red, for them to stare at you with compassion, no humanity. Lissa still felt strigoi were just scary monsters lurking in the dark, she had never come face to face with one, thank god. But Christian he seemed to get it, at least a little bit. He would make me hot chocolate whenever I got a new mark then just sit in the silence with me. 

“Guardian Hathaway.” I looked up at this, Ivan seemed to have finished his conversation and had turned to me now. 

“Guardian Hathaway is my mom,” I cut him off, while me and my mom were starting to build a relationship she was definitely not my favourite person in the world. “Just Rose is fine.”

“Rose then, I’ve heard many things about you.” I stopped myself from groaning, I had hoped that the tales of my misadventures had not reached Russia, but apparently, I was mistaken. “Don’t worry, all good things. Well, mostly.”

It wasn’t necessarily that I regretted what I had done in high school but it had followed me. Well more like preceded me. I had to work hard to gain anyone's trust or confidence. Nevermind I was one of the best guardians, something I was damn proud of and worked hard to be able to say. I wasn’t anywhere near the godlike status as say Dimitri Belikov but I had managed to catch up with my peers after missing almost two years. 

“Is it true you gave old Drozdov a run for his money in poker?” He asked, a smirk playing at his lips. I knew what he was talking about, there had been some visiting Royals for some event a couple months after we had arrived at court. I had the evening off and had gone to a bar on the campus. There had been a game of poker by some of the older royals and their guardians. One of them was an old classmate from St. Vlad’s who had convinced me to play. I had learnt to play with the novices in middle school. Apparently, years of training my face to be completely blank had given me a good poker face and growing up around royals had allowed me to read people well. I had won, taking home a fair sum of money and memories of my carefree days at the academy.

“Indeed,” I said, grinning slyly back at Ivan at the memory.

“Good that man needs a good putting in his place every once and awhile.” He laughed. “We should play while you’re here.”

“Deal.” I don’t think Lissa knew how to play, Adrian was absolutely atrocious, and I knew all of Eddie’s tells. That left the two mysterious Russians. 

“She scammed dear old dad out of a couple hundred bucks.” Adrian laughed then turned to me. “I’m pretty sure he hates you now, lucky you.”

I snorted, I wasn’t a huge fan of anyone in the Ivashkov family except for Adrian. Tatiana had used me, twisted my accomplishments so she could lower the guardian age. It boiled my blood, 16-year-olds weren’t ready to fight. Hell, most 18-year-olds weren’t either.

We spent another half an hour talking before everyone was so exhausted and we went to bed. I passed the front hallway and saw the two guardians on duty. They seemed alert and assured me they would be okay for the night and would come get me if they needed anything. I managed to change into pyjamas before collapsing into bed exhausted.


	5. Chapter 5

I spent the morning on duty with Eddie. He stayed in the basement with the moroi and I walked the perimeter. Halfway through we switched and I stood in the corner of the basement watching the room. Ivan, Lissa and Adrian sat hunched over the table at the center of the room, books and papers spread around them. They talked quietly, alternating between looking at the research around them and trying to use their magic. They seemed to mostly be explaining what each of them could do and how they thought about their magic.

At lunch we switched shifts, Belikov and Isla had the next shift. After lunch, Eddie asked me to go on a run with him. I had not had time to work out as much as might have wanted recently with all the prep work to get us here so I quickly agreed. I changed into running clothes and shoes and met Eddie at the door. 

We walked out into the cold Russian air. It was the middle of fall and though I had been warned about the winter it was still relatively nice out. We walked out to the road passing Belikov as we went, the sun was just starting to rise and he would probably have to go back inside so as not to raise suspicion soon. He nodded at us as we passed, in full guardian mode as Lissa liked to call it. 

We set out at a fast pace once we reached the road, silently falling into pace next to each other. Eddie was a good running partner, content to run in silence. I liked running, the feel of my muscles burning and my lungs expanding distracted me. It gave me something to focus on besides my worries of safety and Spirit and everything. 

We ran along the dirt road, occasionally passing houses, less ornate than Ivan’s but still quite nice. When we reached the highway we had driven down yesterday we turned around and started back. On our way back we saw some more people, lights were being turned on in the houses we passed and there were a couple people out walking their dogs. We arrived back at the house and checked the time. We have probably run close to five miles in a little under 45 minutes. I high fived Eddie as we walked in.

I went to the kitchen and got a glass of water then went upstairs to my room. I had a quick shower then changed into comfortable clothes. I was on the night shift tonight and was hoping to sleep at least a couple hours before then. 

I tossed and turned in bed for a while before eventually managing to fall asleep. I was woken up a few hours later by Lissa. 

“Dinner’s ready come on.” 

“I’ll be down in a minute just let me get dressed.” She nodded and slipped out of the room. 

Unlike at Court, we didn’t have to wear the guardian uniform. I instead went for a simple pair of jeans and a black t-shirt. I tucked my stake into its place on my belt and tied my hair up in a bun. 

I got downstairs and saw everyone around the table eating. We’d been scattered throughout the house all day, all on different schedules doing different things, but now the entire house had come together for a family dinner. 

I took the last empty seat next to Belikov and loaded my plate with food. I leaned back and surveyed the room. Everyone seemed to be getting along well enough, all talking and eating. It brought back the family dinner image.

“Did you enjoy your run this afternoon?” I glanced beside me at Belikov who had turned and was looking at me.

“I did, I haven’t been on a good run in too long.” Thinking of the laps I had been made to do in school. I hadn’t really done much running in court, preferring to stick to other conditioning methods.

“Good, I didn’t see you come back in the end. What was your time?” 

“42:20 I think.” He looked impressed.

“To the road and back?” I nodded. “Impressive.”

“It’s all I did in high school. I swear it’s all Alberta made me do for a couple months when we first got back, just run laps. I didn’t even get to touch a stake until after all the Victor shit happened.” I understood now why Alberta did what she did, I was not ready for a stake yet but I remember my hands becoming chapped and cracked from running out in the cold.

Belikov gave me an unreadable look before he continued in a softer voice, the conversation was between the two of us now.

“I’ve heard the stories about you.”

“And not just the ones of me playing poker?” His lips twitched slightly at that.

“No.” He paused for a moment and looked like he was choosing his words carefully. “They say you are the crazy american girl with no regard for her own safety.”

“Well that’s not entirely untrue, but I’m sure they don’t mean it as a compliment.”

“Maybe not, but I do.” He glanced across the table at Lissa. “You’re a good guardian Rose, one of the best.” I ignored the way my name in his mouth made me feel funny.

“And you haven’t even seen me fight,” I mumbled, trying to ease the weird tension that had fallen around us. He chuckled, making my stomach do more weird things. 

“No, I have not. Maybe we should set up sparring matches,” His eyes sparkled a bit when he added, teasing. “We can add it to your calendar.”

“Oh my god it was one thing, I’m never going to live this down am I?” I groaned. “I was bored and everyone around me was talking about magic and I had nothing to do. Now back to your idea about sparring, yes. Set it up for tomorrow morning, after breakfast. And I’m not fighting Eddie.” I raised my voice so Eddie could hear me. “I love you Castile but you’re a lousy sparring partner.” 

Eddie looked up at his name and gave me a questioning yet amused look.

“Belikov is putting together a sparring tournament, tomorrow, after breakfast,” I explained. 

He grinned at this, as did the other two guardians. Sparring was fun, on top of being a good exercise it was one of the few times we got to have fun with each other. Sure we had free time but it was usually small and we filled it with sleep and food or other workouts. It also brought back memories of the academies we had all grown up in, when sparring with each other had been our only fights.

“I am a wonderful sparring partner, I’ll have you know.”

“You’re still scared from that time I broke your wrist.”

“And I have damn right to be, you’re scary Hathaway.”

We calmed back down after that and finished the meal. I then went and made a large pot of coffee for me and Luke. I made myself a cup and then went to the entranceway. There were a couple chairs set up for us to sit in until the sun went down. I talked a bit with Luke, he seemed pretty nice and easy to get along with.

After a couple hours everyone had gone up to bed, Belikov nodding at me on his way up. Lissa had come and said goodnight as well, telling me to have a good shift. 

Our shift passed uneventfully, I learnt more about Luke. He had gone to St. Vladimir’s a few years above me and had worked for a Dashkov lord before coming to Court. He was easy to get along with and reminded me a bit of Mason. I would be sure to point him in Eddie’s direction in the morning. After a couple hours the sun went down and we were able to walk the perimeter. I went first, walking around as it got colder. I watched the stars for a bit, the sky was so full of them, we were truly in the middle of nowhere so there was very little light pollution. 

I was inside again, having sent out Luke after a couple hours, just watching the door when Belikov came downstairs. He was dressed in flannel pyjama pants and a slightly too small black t-shirt. It hugged his muscled body as he walked, slipping up to show toned abs when he stretched. He nodded at me as he passed and I tried my hardest to make it not look like I had been staring at his abs. 

A few minutes later he reentered and handed me a cup of coffee. 

“Thanks, comrade.” I grinned at him. He quirked a brow at the nickname but didn’t comment.

“Did you have a good shift?” He instead asked. I nodded. 

“Uneventful, just the way we like it.” Maybe a bit boring but I would rather a boring shift than a pack of strigoi attacking. 

“Good.” With that he nodded and turned back to the stairs, his own coffee cup gripped in his hand. I watched him climb the stairs again before turning back to my coffee. It was made perfectly to my liking, and I revelled in it.


	6. Chapter 6

It was another hour before I saw Belkov again, this time when he came down he was dressed and looked more awake. After him, everyone else started trickling down and into the kitchen. I called Luke back in and we joined everyone else for breakfast. 

Breakfast was a quiet affair, everyone still half asleep or not wanting to break the sleepy quiet that had fallen over our large group. After breakfast, we all went to the living room. We moved the chairs and coffee table to leave a large open space clear in the middle of the room. The moroi took their seat on one of the couches.

The fights were decided and then we started. I fought Isla, both of us landing a few good hits before I managed to pin her. We then watched Eddie and Belikov and I realized why he was called a god. Dimitri Belikov was mesmerizing as he fought, he moved with grace and purpose, he was deadly and beautiful. Then Isla and Luke, they teased each other and it was easy to tell they did this often, they knew each other’s moves and were evenly matched. Next was me and Luke, we were both tired but hit hard, I eventually managed to pin him after a few minutes. Then it was Belikov and Isla, again I was enticed by the way he fought, he was every bit the deadly guardian we were trained to be. Finally, it was time for me and Belikov to fight.

“You ready to get your ass kicked comrade?” I had watched him fight, I knew I had to use his height and weight to my advantage. 

He rolled his eyes at me as we took our places across from each other. I bounced on my feet as I focused on him. We watched each other for a few seconds before both attacking. We fought together, trapped in a deadly dance. We both hit hard and fast trying to one-up the other, to get past the other’s armour. After a few minutes, both of us were panting and tired but neither let our attacks falter. And then suddenly he got me, he found the chink in my armour and flipped me. My back hit the carpeted floor and my breath left me. Before I could try and scramble up he was on top of me, holding my arms above my head and straddling me with his legs, effectively immobilizing and pinning me to the ground. 

Suddenly I was overcome with the urge to reach up and kiss him. My eyes landed on his lips and I wanted to just lean up and close the space between us. Instead, though he moved away from me and stood up then extended a hand to help me up. It felt like the rest of the room was coming back as I stood up, looking at his satisfied smirk. 

Everyone around us was cheering and clapping and I grinned at our audience. I pulled my hand away from his and went back to my spot on the couch. I tried to shake off the weird feeling as I sat down, I was just tired from being up all night. Lissa gave me a questioning look but I just shook my head at her, she didn’t need to be sidled with my sudden attraction to Dimitri Belikov.

We moved the furniture back to its normal place and I avoided looking at Belikov again. He managed to stop me before I could escape upstairs though. 

“It seems I was right.” He said, stopping me at the stairs.

“What?”

“You are one of the best guardians out there, and now I’ve seen you fight.”

“You’re not too bad yourself comrade.”

“You know you could just call me Dimitri.”

“Where would be the fun in that.” And then I winked at him. I was actually honest to god flirting with god among men Dimitri Belikov. He seemed to take it though.

“Whatever you say, Roza.” He smiled slightly then left to continue whatever he was doing.

I practically ran upstairs and locked myself in my bedroom. I had flirted with Dimitri and he had flirted back. I think. I felt like a stupid teenager again. Obsessed with a boy. But he wasn’t just some pretty moroi boy no he was powerful and scary and intoxicating. 

With a frustrated sigh, I pushed thoughts of Dimitri out of my mind and changed into pyjamas. I collapsed into bed. Briefly checking on Lissa who felt comfortable and calm so I tried to get comfortable in bed.

I was just settling into bed when I heard the doorbell ring. I was not on duty so it was not my job to deal with it, I reminded myself as I rolled over.

Then suddenly I felt shock and surprise coursing through the bond. I was on my feet and out the door before I had properly processed what happened. I ran downstairs and saw Lissa standing in front of the open door with two people standing on the other side. I wanted to yell at her for opening the door, she should have let a guardian do it. I came to a stop beside her and she looked at me in surprise.

“Ah, good reaction time.” The man in front of me said before I could launch into my lecture about safety.

“Who are you?” I asked, peering out at them. There was a moroi woman who looked to be in her mid-thirties and a dhampir man with graying hair in his fifties. 

“I’m Oksana and this is my husband and guardian Mark.” The woman answered with a smile.

Satisfied with my answer I turned back to Lissa. 

“What are you doing opening the door to people you don’t know? There are two guardians on duty. Two very good guardians, that should be doing this.” As if called by the mention of guardians Dimitri walked into the room. I pointed him out to Lissa as if to say see.

“Dimka, good to see you.” A voice from the door pulled my attention back to the couple standing there.

I realized Lissa and I were blocking the entrance and quickly pulled her out of the way to let them in. They were friends of Dimitri obviously and I wasn’t going to just not let them in. They entered and started talking with Dimitri so I turned back to Lissa. She was looking between me and the man, a look of concentration on her face. She was trying to see his aura, she had been getting better at it over the past couple days and I could see when she looked at him. He had the same black ring as me, he was shadow kissed. 

I stopped my scolding of Lissa and stood there shocked. We had never met another shadow kissed pair since we had discovered Spirit. I turned to look at Lissa as she looked at me.

“They’re like us.” She whispered. 

“Shit,” I said, loud enough to call the attention of the other people in the room. “Hi, sorry I didn’t introduce myself, I’m Rose Hathaway.” I reverted back to my instilled manners from growing up surrounded by royalty as my brain tried to catch up with the information I just received.

The man, Mark, stepped forward and shook my hand. This seemed to shake Lissa out of whatever state she’d been in and she stepped forward and introduced herself next to me. Once everyone had been introduced we stood in awkward silence. I was aware of Dimitri standing watching us but could only focus on the couple in front of us. 

I felt this weird feeling at the back of my head, almost like fingers brushing my brain and shivered. I saw Lissa shiver next to me but before I could ask about it the couple in front of us started talking. 

“Oksana.” The man hissed under his breath. “They don’t know who we are, they don’t trust us.”

I realized the woman was a Spirit user and had obviously just done whatever had just happened to Lissa and I. Mark then turned to us and smiled.

“Sorry about that, she just wanted to see you properly. It’s harmless and we won’t use anything we saw against you.” 

“Wait, she just saw into our minds?” Lissa asked, Oksana just nodded.

“I just brushed them, I can see your surface-level thoughts and if I dive deeper your memories and things.”

“That’s so cool!” Lissa was getting excited now, thinking of all the ways she could use that power. 

“Easy now, you just learned auras, you can barely tell what they mean yet,” I told her, the girl could not be faulted on her ambition.

“Rose this is so exciting! There’s someone else who is shadow kissed, maybe you have cool powers you haven’t learned about.” I winced slightly, thinking of the powers I already had, they weren’t particularly pleasant. Judging by Mark’s similar reaction I could say we didn’t get many cool powers. 

“Yes the shadow kissed thing, that’s why we’re here. We were simply told, in a very cryptic phone call,” Oksana paused and turned to Dimitri with a frown. “that you also had a bond. We’ve never met anyone else with a bond, in all our years. We only knew of Ivan as another Spirit user.”

“Well welcome to the Spirit Slumber Party!” I reverted to jokes to cover my shock. Mark laughed at that and turned to Oksana.

“I like her she’s funny.” He said.

The couple entered further into the house and Lissa led us all downstairs to where Adrian and Ivan were still studying. Dimitri took up his customary place along the wall as we entered.


	7. Chapter 7

Adrian and Ivan looked up at our arrival, Ivan immediately smiling when he saw who it was. 

“Oksana, Mark! It’s so good to see you.” He stood up to greet them.

“Shouldn’t you be in bed little dhampir?” Adrian asked as I came and sat down at the table.

“More exciting things are happening,” I said nodding towards Mark and Oksana.

Adrian looked at them for a second before turning back to me, eyes wide. I nodded.

“Looks like there are more of you.” 

“I mean theoretically I knew there had to be but it’s nice that there’s more than an old dead saint to go off of.”

“Have you talked to them at all?”

“No, they literally just got here. Oksana did this weird thing where she brushed our mind or something though, so watch out.”

Adrian looked almost scared at that which caused me to laugh. I turned to watch the new couple as they sat down at the table. Mark pulled out a chair for Oksana and she sat down and smiled at him. They seemed to have conversations that were mostly one-sided to the outside world, Mark whispering or reacting to whatever Oksana was saying. It reminded me of me and Lissa, but more. They had obviously had had the bond for longer and knew how it worked better than us. 

We talked with Mark and Oksana for the rest of the morning. Well, Oksana and Lissa talked and me and Mark sat and listened. I realized I did have things I wanted to ask him about but not in a group setting. Though the entire reason for the trip was to learn more about it the bond was something very personal for me, it was a part of me in a way and I didn’t want to be someone for everyone to study. I loved my friends but I hated talking about my own issues or feelings. 

The one interesting thing Oksana told us about was a way to heal some of the darkness. In normal Spirit users, the darkness was a part of them but a shadow kissed bondmate could pull the darkness from them. Because this darkness was not technically their own it could be healed out of them. Spirit could be infused into silver, just like any other magic, but it would give off healing properties. Oksana was able to heal some of the darkness out of me and gave me a silver bracelet that would slowly give off Spirit. It would eventually have to be re-imbued with the magic but it was a way of balancing the darkness. It was proof that I wasn’t destined to go slowly insane. 

I realized I had spent my entire morning awake and technically had a shift right now. I resigned myself to just drinking a lot of coffee as we all reconvened in the kitchen for lunch. I sat down in a seat at the table and scrubbed my hands across my face. The excitement of the morning was wearing off and my tiredness was settling in. I felt someone sit down next to me and looked up, surprised to see Dimitri.

“You look like you need sleep.” He said, looking at my face concerned.

“What I need is coffee.” He raised a brow. “I have the next shift,” I explained.

“I’ll take it.”

“What?”

“I’ll take your shift, you need to sleep.”

“No, I can’t make you work double do to my own stupid decisions.”

“Roza, you’d be no good against any attacking strigoi if you’re falling asleep on your feet.”

I sighed, I couldn’t fault his logic and I was exhausted.

“Fine.”

“Look, you're already in pyjamas.” He smirked slightly. I looked down and realized he was right, I had jumped out of bed and not changed when I ran to meet Oksana and Mark. I groaned and sunk my head into my hands again. I could hear Dimitri laughing but refused to look up. He was then called by someone else and got up to help them, patting my shoulder as he did. 

I slumped further into my chair and propped my chin in my hand. I glanced across the table to see Adrian giving me a weird look. He smirked and wiggled his eyebrows when I made eye contact. I mouthed ‘fuck you’ to him then tried to focus on something else in the kitchen.

It seemed Oksana had gone full mother mode and had started making everyone lunch. Ivan and Dimitri moved around getting things for her, considering it was their kitchen. Everyone else seemed to be taking seats around the table. Lissa came and sat next to me and nudged my knee under the table.

“How are you feeling?” She asked.

“Good. Tired.”

“Mmm, you’ve been up all night, what are you still doing up? Go to bed!”

“I will after this. Dimitri’s covering my shift.”

“That’s nice of him. Oksana said she would teach me how to make the charms so I can help with the darkness.”

“We’ll be okay,” I whispered, and I actually believed it. I had spent the past year thinking about what it would be like to slowly go insane. And I would do it, for Lissa I would do it. Now though I learned that I didn’t have to.

Lissa wrapped her arms around me and pulled me into a hug. She held me for a couple seconds before letting go. I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise. She thought as she looked at me. 

“Hey, that’s my line.” I teased, easing the tension. 

Oksana finished preparing lunch and everyone sat down, Lissa stayed on one side of me, Dimitri took the other. A nice chatter fell over the table as everyone wanted to get to know the newcomers. I sat quietly and ate my food, letting everyone else talk around me. 

After lunch, I finally settled down to sleep. I lay in bed for a bit thinking of everything that had happened in the past few hours. We had met a shadow kissed pair that had been living with their bond for years and knew how to handle the side effects. They managed to balance Spirit and not let it control them. There was hope for the future for me and Lissa.

I eventually managed to get to sleep for a few hours. Liss was again the one to come and wake me for dinner. This time I wouldn’t be on duty so I chose more casual clothes and braided my hair into a nice braid down my back. When I reached the table I found the same spot I had sat in before, between Lissa and Dimitri. Dinner was filled with a lively debate about magic, everyone laughing and contributing with their opinion. It felt like when our entire group got together back at Court, everyone talking over each other and laughing. We didn’t have big group dinners often anymore but when we did it was a bit chaotic.

The thing about sleeping all afternoon is I was now not sleepy. I sat in the living room with my feet propped up on the coffee table. Dimitri was on the other side of the couch I was on, reading the western novel I had seen before. It was a bit of a comical sight, this stoic guardian, 6’7” russian man reading about the wild west. 

Mark entered the room and sat down in the chair next to our couch. He smiled at me as he sat down. I turned my attention to him, Dimitri was incredibly boring when he was reading. 

“How did you die?” I decided this was the time to have the conversation I had put off this morning. Mark raised an eyebrow at me and I could see Dimitri out of the corner of my eye completely jerk. “You don’t have to tell me, but you know, you had to die at some point.”

“It was a strigoi attack. What about you?”

“Car crash.”

“What do you want to know about Rose?”

“I don’t know, all of it.”

“How long have you had the bond?” I could sense Dimitri listening to our conversation.

“Almost 4 years.”

“Do you have good control over it?”

“It’s decent, I still sometimes slip into her head but I’ve gotten better at controlling it.”

“Can you get in without her pulling you in?” I thoughts back to my self-imposed meditation exercises I did and the time in Spokane.

“Yeah.”

“That’s good, you can use it if you have to.” He thought for a moment. “What about the other things.”

“Like the strigoi and ghosts?” He nodded. “I mean the strigoi thing is helpful if a bit annoying, the ghosts I could do without.” I thought back to Mason’s ghost following me around. “I mean they can be helpful though.”

“What strigoi thing?” Dimitri asked now fully invested in our conversation.

“I can like sense if a strigoi is near, I get really nauseous.” Mark nodded at my response. Dimitri just looked at both of us.

“And ghosts?” He asked.

“I can see ghosts sometimes. Usually, it’s only outside of wards and I only properly saw and interacted with one. And he was someone I knew before he died.” I looked at Mark to see if he had more insight, I had only seen ghosts a few times and was not eager to see them again anytime soon.

“I’ve only seen a few, they’re not particularly pleasant.”

“Can you do anything else?” Dimitri was now leaning forward looking at us.

“I don’t think so, those are the only ones I’ve had.” Mark nodded in agreement.

Dimitri seemed to think about this for a while before turning back to his book. Mark changed the subject to a lighter topic. We continued talking for a while before all going to bed for the night.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long for this chapter, I've been super busy. I will hopefully have the next chapter up in a couple days.

We were finally on proper vampire time so the first part of my morning shift was spent walking the grounds watching for potential threats. A couple hours in Eddie came and switched with me. I then took my place by the door watching over the room. With Oksana’s arrival, they had been asking her to show them her magic as they had all previously done and were catching her up on some of their findings. The rest of my shift passed fairly normally, watching as the different Spirit users showed off their magic. 

After lunch, Isla and Luke took over for me and Eddie. Eddie went to bed because he had the evening shift and I went to the living room. Mark asked me to play cards with him during lunch and I agreed. After our slightly awkward conversation last night we had become fast friends. I liked Mark, he was fun and not super serious though he assured me he was a deadly guardian. He still had that darkness that surrounded him, like me, but he, also like me, used it to live his fullest life. He was married to a moroi who was a couple decades younger than him. If that was not the definition of not giving a fuck I don’t know what is.

In a similar scene to the previous night, Dimitri was sitting on the couch reading. This time though Mark and I were sitting on the floor on either side of the coffee table. Mark dealt us each a hand wand we played for a bit. We threw jokes back and forth, Dimitri sometimes joining in. We were laughing and simply enjoying the company of other guardians, we so rarely got to hang out in groups when we weren’t on duty.

I was in the middle of saying something when it hit me. The familiar roiling in my stomach and pounding in my head. I dropped my cards at the same moment Mark did. I could only mean one thing, strigoi. I looked up at Mark, our eyes locking. Panic reflected in both, hardening to resolve and determination. 

I was immediately on my feet, rushing towards the door. I turned to the other two, my guardian mask slipping into place. I was one of the scariest guardians out there, I had killed my first strigoi when I was 17. I was a court guardian, I could give orders if I had to. 

“Mark, go see everyone downstairs, there’s only the one entrance but there are windows.” Then I turned to Dimitri, he was now alert on his feet, ready for the threat. “Go wake up Eddie then join us outside.”

I didn’t wait for either of them to respond before I was running down the hallway and slamming the door open. It was still dark out, it would be a few hours till sunrise, so we had to fight for ourselves.

I took a second to survey the scene, my eyes adjusting to the darkness. Luke was fighting a group of five or six strigoi and humans. There looked to be two humans and three strigoi. I rushed forward to join the fray. 

I attacked one of the strigoi, hitting him hard in the back of the head. He whips around with inhuman speed and bares his teeth. I duck under his first swing and manage to hit back. We trade blows back and forth, both moving incredibly quickly. 

Then he gets the upper hand. He grabs a fistful of my hair and pulls me up, pinning my arms to my sides with his other arm. In my haste to get outside, I had forgotten to tie up my hair or even put on my shoes. I struggle and try to use what little movement I have to get out of his grip but his arms are tight around me. 

“Ah, yes you’ll do. Come along now there are people to meet.” He whispers in my ear.

I feel fangs brush against my neck as the door opens again. I see Dimitri and Eddie rush out. Dimitri’s eyes lock on mine just as the fangs pierce my skin. I realize at that moment that I really like him. He’s nice and funny but serious about his job. I can imagine him easily fitting into my life, coming home from long shifts in court to see him sitting on the couch with an old western novel. He’s more than just extremely attractive, he’s warm and a strange comfort despite only knowing him a few days and now he looks scary, like death in a leather duster. 

The strigoi endorphins hit me before I’m able to think too hard about my sudden realization. It’s harder than a moroi bite, I feel a warmth spreading through my body and I stop struggling. I want more and more, I don’t care if he drains me I would be happy to die like this. He finally pulls away and I don’t know how much time has passed. 

“Sleep.” He whispers, turning my head to look into his eyes.

I am normally very strong against compulsion but with my blood loss and the endorphins pulsing through my body, I am unable to resist. The last thing I see before slipping into unconsciousness is Dimitri Belikov running towards me. 

I don’t know how long I’m out for before I get pulled into Lissa’s head. Her pounding anxiety and terror breaking through my already crumbling mental walls. 

She and Ivan and Adrian and Oksana were hunched under the table in the basement. Mark stood guard by the door, poised ready for an attack. Isla, stood on the other side of the room by the windows, watching and waiting. Then there comes a thumping from upstairs. Everyone tenses.

“It’s all clear you can come up.” A russian accented voice calls from the top of the stairs. 

Mark motions for them to follow him up and Isla takes the rear. They carefully make their way upstairs, still on edge. When they get to the top Dimitri is standing waiting for them, he looks grim. He leads them to the living room where Luke is sitting in a chair while Eddie stitches up a cut on his arm. Oksana rushes over to help, Mark right behind her. 

Lissa surveys the room and realizes someone is missing. 

“Where’s Rose?” She asks no one in particular.

“She got taken,” Dimitri answers, his face darkening.

“What?” 

“One of the strigoi bit her then dragged her away, he got away with the humans. We were distracted by the other two strigoi. I don’t think she’s dead.” Eddie answers this time, he fakes nonchalance but there’s a tenseness in his shoulders. 

“Why does this always happen to her?” Adrian asks, but it’s clear it’s not a question.

I get pulled out of Lissa’s head and back to my own body. I wake up in a house, tied to a chair. The room appears to be a living room with blackout curtains drawn over the windows. 

“Rose, good you’re awake.” A familiar voice says. It’s not the man from before though, it’s a woman’s voice. I can’t place where I know it from until someone steps into my view. I suddenly recognize her, memories from St. Valds rushing through my head. Standing in front of me, a smile twisting her face, eyes ringed in red, is Sonya Karp.


	9. Chapter 9

Ms. Karp as it turns out was quite a nice captor. She untied me when I promised not to attack her. She fed me and gave me a place to sleep. She feeds on me, pumping me full of endorphins until I barely remember my own name. And she talks to me.

She rambled on about all sorts of things. We would sometimes watch television and I didn’t really understand the Russian soaps. Ms. Karp would talk about the characters, making up her own stories, switching between english and russian. I was so out of it I didn’t know what was happening. I felt high, giggling at random things happening throughout the day.

Sometimes Ms. Karp would talk to me. She would rant about being strigoi, though unlike most she didn’t seem to be trying to convince me to turn or gloating about her power and immortality. She seemed to be trying to convince someone, me or herself, why she changed, that it was a good idea. 

“Have you ever seen sunflowers, Rosemarie? Stood in a field of sunflowers and just watched the sunset? Sometimes I wish I could go back if just for a moment to stand in that field.” She stared at the curtains covering the windows like she could see what was on the other side. 

Despite my slight freedom Ms. Karp always watched me. I knew that if I stepped out of line she would easily snap my neck or tie me down again. She might be nice now but I knew she could kill me, she was still a strigoi. 

After she fed on me the first time, at the end of what I assumed to be the first day I was here, I curled up on the couch and fell asleep. I half expected to be pulled into one of Adrian’s Spirit Dreams. Instead, I was pulled into Lissa’s head. 

She was sitting in the living room with a cup of tea and Eddie next to her. It seemed any thoughts of a normal schedule had been scraped, instead, everyone was worried about me. I knew that even if they tried to contact Court for help none would come, they didn’t care if one dhampir went missing and was probably killed by strigoi, even one as infamous as me.

“Don’t worry, she’s Rose. She can get out of anything. She’s smart. She’s gotten out of worse situations than this.” Eddie was saying. I knew that Eddie had absolutely no idea what situation I was in, but he had faith and me and was calming down Lissa which was comforting. I knew even if I died here she would have people to look after her. 

“I know, but this time feels different. You heard what Dimitri’s creepy grandma said we’re about to change the world, Rose is about to change the world.” Lissa said with a sigh.

This was the first time I had heard of a creepy grandma. I dug a bit into Lissa’s mind and found that Dimitri’s grandmother had called and told him to get everyone in the house. She had then told them about a dream she had of all of them and me changing the world. That we were all on the precipice of something great. She had ended her phone call there, leaving everyone confused. Dimitri and Ivan had explained that Yeva sometimes got these visions and dreams about things and would give creepy predictions to those involved. She would tell you cryptic pieces of information that would leave you with questions, but she always seemed to be right in some way.

Before I could hear any more of Lissa’s conversation I was pulled back into my own head. I woke up to the sound of someone in the kitchen. I got up and walked towards the sound, Ms. Karp was standing by the stove. She turned when I entered.

“Rose good you’re awake, I’ve made breakfast!” 

She motioned for me to sit down at the table. I sat, still thinking about the things I had seen in Lissa’s head. Dimitri’s creepy grandma said I was going to change the world. I wasn’t sure how I would do it while being the captive of a strigoi who was probably going to kill me once she got bored. 

Ms. Karp put down a plate of bacon and eggs and toast in front of me. I looked at her for a second, trying to figure out why she was doing this.

“Eat up. You’re no fun if you die or can’t do anything because you’ve lost all your energy.”

I figured she wouldn’t ask me twice so I turned to the plate and started eating. I didn’t realize how hungry I was till this moment and quickly cleaned my plate. Ms. Karp watched me the entire time. I had mostly grown used to her constant watch over me. It’s why I hadn’t tried to escape yet, because she always had her eyes on me. I knew even if she had her back turned she was listening with her heightened senses. 

There was also the fact that I had been kept drugged up since I got here. First, the man when he captured me and then Ms. Karp had bitten me. Strigoi endorphins were unlike anything else I had ever experienced, they were powerful. They stuck around longer than moroi bites too, leaving me with the feeling of being high and my body exhausted. 

“And now for my breakfast.” Ms. Karp said, coming to stand beside me. 

She brushed the hair from my neck and leaned down. I felt her fangs brush against my skin a second before she bit down. I arched into the bite, craving the feeling of it. I was ashamed of my reaction to these things but I had grown attracted to a moroi bite over my time with Lissa on the run and strigoi bite was twice that. I wouldn’t say I was addicted to the bites but I could see why someone might be. I didn’t have the same stigma against blood whores that the world seemed to carry. They were one of the only places producing dhampirs, which were already in short supply, if they were to stop the moroi would have no protection. 

I don’t know how long Ms. Karp fed on me for, I lost track of time. Conscious, coherent thought fell away as the endorphins hit my system. I floated above my body as it felt warm and happy. I whimpered slightly as she pulled away. 

I focused on her as she pulled away, she carefully picked up a napkin and wiped her mouth. She then turned back to me and smiled. She passed me my glass of water that was sitting on the table and made me drink a bit. 

Once I had mostly regained my bearings and was able to move without the room spinning she helped me back to the living room and onto the couch. Ms. Karp then took her seat in her chair, I think she might have turned on the tv but I was already drifting off to sleep. 

In my dream I was walking through a forest, it reminded me of the one surrounding the academy. It looked to be spring, flowers blooming on the trees and a warm breeze in the air. 

“Little dhampir.” I turned and saw Adrian standing by a tree behind me.

“Adrian.” I gasped. I still felt the effects of the bite coursing through me. I swayed slightly on the spot.

“Hey,” Adrian rushed forward and grabbed my arm to help stabilize me. “Are you okay?”

“I’m being held captive by strigoi, what do you think?” 

“You've been on a weird schedule, I haven’t been able to get you asleep until now.” Adrian huffed back.

“I sleep after she feeds.”

“Who?” 

“Ms. Karp, she’s the one who’s been keeping me but she’s weird. She's not like most strigoi, maybe it’s the spirit, but she goes on these rants and tells these stories, it’s almost like she wishes she hadn’t turned. And she’s nice to me, kind of.”

“And it’s only her?”

“Yeah I think the ones that attacked us were her lackeys or something, I haven’t seen them since.”

“Do you know where you are?”

I shook my head. “In a house somewhere.”

“You’re being woken up but do you know when you’ll be asleep again?”

“Probably tonight.”

“Hope to see you then little dhampir.” Adrian mock saluted me as he faded.


	10. Chapter 10

When I woke I found us in a similar situation as yesterday. Ms. Karp was sitting in a chair watching the tv. Some Russian drama that I couldn’t follow in my inebriated state. As the credits rolled at the end of the episode I turned to Ms. Karp.

“Did you know Mikhail dropped his post at the academy to follow you for a year?” I asked the question that had been on my mind since I’d heard about it in my final year at St. Vladimir’s.

“Oh Mikhail, such a good man. I don’t deserve him. Such a big heart. I can’t be loved, I’m a monster. Bound to kill everything I touch.” Ms. Karp got that far off look again.

I decided to leave the topic there and turned my attention back to the tv. There seemed to be another episode of the same show. I started to understand who some of the characters were and a bit of the plot. As the episode came to a close I turned back to Ms. Karp again. She seemed to mostly be back from wherever she had gone to while staring out the window. 

“Ms. Karp, do you want to be strigoi?”

She turned and looked at me for a second.

“I don’t know anymore Rose.”

She didn’t say anything again after that. I turned over and stared at the ceiling. What did this mean? Ms. Karp didn’t want to be strigoi anymore, but she didn’t seem evil. She was nice, in her own way. I didn’t want to kill her, I don’t think she wanted to be dead either. She seemed like she wanted to be moroi again.

I could hear her quietly humming, she had turned off the tv and was doing something but I continued staring at the ceiling. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on the humming, blocking out my racing thoughts. I relaxed into the couch as I fell asleep, desperately hoping that Adrian would somehow also be asleep. 

I found myself wandering the halls of the Queen’s Palace in Court in my dream. They seem to be stretching in weird ways, dragging on endlessly in different directions. I had never been here in a dream before so I hoped that meant Adrian was nearby. 

As if called by the thought of him, Adrian appeared as I turned a corner into the hallway that led to the throne room. 

“Little dhampir, back so soon?”

“Yeah, turns out being the captive of my old teacher turned strigoi is quite boring.”

I looked around a bit now that I wasn’t as desperately looking for him. I saw what looked to be a semi-corporeal, flickering form of Oksana behind Adrian with her eyes closed. 

“Is that Oksana?”

“Oh, yes! She’s hoping that maybe she could go into your mind and find out where you are.”

Oksana stepped forward and extended a hand out to me.

“Keep talking amongst yourselves, I’m not sure if this is going to work but I’ll try. So nice to see you, dear.” She said.

She placed her hand on my arm and I felt energy travel up it to my head. The familiar sensation from when she had brushed my mind. It seemed to press deeper though, the feeling spreading through my whole body. I shivered at it before turning my attention back to Adrian.

“Your aura’s all over the place, what’s up?” Adrian asked. I sighed.

“It’s Ms. Karp. I told you before that she was weird, different, because of Spirit or something. But I asked her point-blank if she wanted to be strigoi and she just looked at me and said the saddest voice that she didn’t know. I don’t think she wants to be dead either, I think she wants to be moroi again. I know it sounds crazy but I feel kind of bad for her.”

Adrian watched me for a second, no doubt reading my aura.

“Ivan did mention something about Spirit returning someone after they became strigoi. I’ll ask him to look into it.”

“Thank you, Adrian! Imagine if you actually could, what that would mean for the world. For everyone who’s turned against their will.” 

“Maybe this is what Creepy Russian Grandma was talking about.”

“She turned because of the darkness you know because she didn’t want to be crazy anymore. She was alone in her darkness. Maybe if we can get her back she won’t be anymore.”

Adrian smiled sadly, he, like me, knew what Spirit darkness was like. To feel like you weren’t in control of your thoughts and feelings, trapped inside your head. It was terrifying and isolating. 

“I’ll make your case, I promise.”

Oksana came out of whatever trance she was in, digging in my mind. She pulled her hand away from me and grinned. 

“I think I know where you are.” She said with a triumphant smile.

“Good, well then Little Dhampir we must depart, hopefully, we’ll see you soon.” Adrian gave me a grin.

I stepped forward and hugged him. It didn’t feel as real as it did in real life but it was still nice. 

“Thank you,” I whispered into his shoulder. 

He gave me a final squeeze of recognition and then took a step back and my dream faded around me until it was dark. I seemed to be asleep for a bit longer before waking up. 

Ms. Karp seemed to be dusting. The house was large, I had only seen the kitchen, bathroom and living room, but I assumed there were more rooms than that. It was kept fairly nice and tidy, I assume sitting around watching Russian television all day got rather boring after a while. 

“Ah, Rose you’re awake. Come I want to show you something.” Ms. Karp turned and motioned for me to get up.

I followed her to the wall by some floor to ceiling blackout curtains. Ms. Karp pulled them back and I cringed for a moment, expecting bright light before realizing how silly that was. Ms. Karp wouldn’t go around opening windows if they were going to kill her. I realized that it wasn’t actually a window but sliding glass doors. 

Ms. Karp opened the door and led me out onto the back deck. I looked out over the backyard, it was a decent size and filled with flowers. They were all shades of grey in the moonlight and most of them weren’t open during the night but it was beautiful. I followed Ms. Karp down into the garden. 

“Wow, this is beautiful, did you do this?” I asked, running my fingers over a flower.

“Yes. It gives me something to work on.” 

“It’s beautiful Ms. Karp.”

“We’ve both been out of the academy for years, call me Sonya.”

“Yeah okay.”

We stayed outside for a while, Sonya tending to her garden while I walked through. I looked at all the plants, tried to imagine what they’d look like in the daytime, though they were beautiful in the moonlight. 

I sat on a small stone bench and looked up at the stars. I took a deep breath as I watched a satellite pass overhead. It felt nice to be outside again, I was beginning to feel cooped up in the house with all the curtains drawn. 

Sonya took me back inside after a while and I sat on the couch again. I tried to relax my mental barriers and reach out and find Lissa. I wanted to know what was happening with my friends.

I got pulled into her head, suddenly seeing what she was seeing. Her emotions were determined and a little scared. I found that everyone had been racing around trying to make a plan after Oksana had found out where I was. Adrian had pleaded my case and Ivan had looked back into his study on Spirit and found his notes about returning strigoi to what they were before. 

He found that it involved an incredible amount of healing magic to be put through a stake. It couldn’t just be a charmed stake a spirit user had to be the one to stake the strigoi. Lissa had immediately volunteered, she was doing it for me. I was happy that she was looking out for me and believed in me.

I saw that she was in the small gym in the basement of Ivan’s house. There was a dummy in front of her and Eddie and Dimitri were next to her.

“The guardians will subdue her before you come in so all you have to do is stake her through the heart,” Eddie said with a smile.

“There’s a lot of things in the way of the heart that you have to get around to be able to get to it.” Dimitri continued. “It’s best to hit it here,” he tapped the dummy, a little left of center of the chest. “And push down hard until you hit the heart.” Lissa nodded in understanding, linking what she remembered from biology class.

“Okay, give it a go.” Eddie patted her arm encouragingly.

Lissa walked up until she was right in front of the dummy and placed the stake where Dimitri had pointed before. She raised her arms above her head and brought the stake down as hard as she could. She missed where she was aiming by a couple inches but got it in pretty far.

“That was really good.” Eddie congratulated, Dimitri nodded his praise.

Lissa kept trying until she was able to consistently hit the right spot with enough force needed to get to the heart. After that, she tried putting magic into the stake and the dummy. Not as much as she would need to actually turn a strigoi but a little bit. 

I was pulled back into my own body by Sonya calling me for dinner. I sat at the table and she placed a plate of food before me. I quickly started eating, no longer wary of her poisoning me with the knowledge that my friends were coming soon to save me and Ms. Karp.


	11. Chapter 11

After dinner, Sonya fed on me again. I was starting to become almost addicted to the bites, craving the next time I would get it. The high was beyond anything I’d ever felt, better than moroi bites. I knew that I would have the same feelings about strigoi bites as I did moroi. I wanted it but felt dirty and shameful for my desire.

Much like the previous times I collapsed onto the couch and fell asleep after. I found myself being pulled into another of Adrian’s Spirit Dreams. I could recognize it now when my dream was no longer my own. This time we were in an apartment, like the ones at Court, I was walking through a door leading to the living room.

“Are you just constantly asleep now?” I asked, looking around for Adrian.

“Well, you see car rides are extremely boring and there’s someone who wanted to see you.” Adrian’s voice called back.

I turned and towards it and saw him casually lounging on a chair, feet propped up on the coffee table. My attention was pulled to the person sitting next to him though, a head of blond hair I would recognize anywhere. 

Lissa immediately shot out of her seat and rushed towards me. She tackled me, wrapping her arms around me, knocking me off balance in my already woozy state. I stumbled a bit but wrapped her in an equally forceful hug.

“Rose! You’re okay!” 

“Of course I’m okay Liss. I wouldn’t just leave you like that.”

“I’ve been so worried! Don’t ever do anything like that again.”

“I know.”

“Adrian said it’s Ms. Karp that’s keeping you.”

“Yeah, she’s not that bad though, different from most strigoi. Might be a Spirit thing.”

“Well we’re coming to get you and hopefully her.” I could feel her doubt in herself, she was going to do the impossible.

“You can do anything you put your mind to Liss. And I’ll be right here the whole time.”

“I know. It’s scary though, I’ve never seen a strigoi before.”

“I know, but you’ll have the best guardians and we won’t let anything happen to you. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“This time, I’ll be the one saving you.”

“And think if this works you’ll have another person for your Spirit Sleepover.”

“Ha, yeah.”

“Hey don’t cry, Liss. I’m alright, I’ll be okay. Don’t worry about me. It’s supposed to be the other way around.” I hugged her closer to me as she started crying.

“We’re being woken up, we must almost be there,” Adrian called from where he was sitting.

“I’ll see you soon Liss.” 

I gave her one last squeeze before letting her go. She and Adrian and the scene he had made faded into darkness. I woke up on the couch, a renewed sense of excitement at the prospect of my friends’ arrival. I could feel Lissa’s fear and nervousness pouring through the bond, threatening to pull me into her head. I let it take me.

Lissa was sitting in the back of a van that was driving down a residential street. Isla was driving with Oksana in the passenger seat navigating. Everyone was tense and nervous as they got closer and closer to where Oksana had found me. 

The truck stopped outside of an unexceptional looking house, it looked the same as all the others on the block. 

“I expected a strigoi house to be a bit grimmer,” Ivan commented from beside Lissa.

“Mm, the best place to hide, in plain sight.” Adrian retorted. 

“Okay, we’re here,” Eddie calls from his place. “You three will stay here with Isla while the rest of us go in. Get ready, we’re leaving soon.”

Out of the corner of Lissa’s eye, I notice the guardians huddled together. I know what they would be talking about, what I would be talking about if I were with them. I see Dimitri tuck a stake into his belt as he looks at the house, probably trying to figure out the interior layout. They are discussing their attack plans. I wish I could help them in some way, tell them what I know, help with the plan.

The spirit users all huddle around Lissa, cutting the guardians off from her view. Ivan placed his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes.

“You are our strongest healer, both in magic and in life. And that’s your best friend in there so it’s you who has to do the hard part, the final step. But know the rest of us are all here with you, no matter what happens we are behind you.” Ivan smiled at her at the end of his little speech.

“Thank you,” Lissa said, feeling grateful for the connection they had formed in the week that they’d known each other. Ivan stepped back and Adrian took his place. He reached out and placed his hand on her cheek and gave her a wry smile.

“You’re about to change the world cousin. You’re going to change everything.” He was right, if this worked, they were going to change the world. Lissa was going to change everything we ever knew or were taught about strigoi.

Lissa just smiled at him and tried not to cry. She was terrified, I could feel it, of facing a real strigoi. One that used to be someone she knew, someone who mentored her. And wasn’t sure if she could do it. It was the impossible. Bring someone back from the undead. Oksana was the last to stand in front of Lissa.

“Храни тебя Господь.” She whispered. May god protect you. Then she leaned down and kissed Lissa on the forehead. 

Lissa nodded and smoothed her hands through her hair then turned towards the house. She walked over to the group of guardians who were starting to spread out. Luke was to stay at the car with the rest of the moroi. She stopped next to Dimitri and looked up at him.

“Eddie, Isla and I will go in first, subdue the strigoi and get her in a position where you will be able to stake her.” He said, he slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a stake and handed it to her. “You will stay with Mark and only come when we tell you. We won’t let anything hurt you, princess.”

Lissa nodded and took the stake from him. The two of them turned to the house and started walking towards it, determined.

I realized that a bunch of guardians were about to storm the building I was in and I should probably be in my own body when it happened. I managed to push myself out of Lissa’s head and back into my own. I took a deep breath and waited. 

The door slammed open, sunlight pouring in, and with it the guardians. They were fast and deadly. Sonya was faster though. She was next to me in an instant. She grabbed me, holding me against her so I couldn’t move or fight back. I watched as the guardians filtered into the room. 

Dimitri made eye contact with me for the briefest second and I smiled at him. I knew what he was going to do, it’s what I would do in his position. The first rule we were taught to fight strigoi. Don’t hesitate.

He ran at us, with his coat billowing behind him he looked like death in a leather duster. He slammed into Sonya, Eddie and Isla behind him. I got thrown against the wall in the struggle. My already weak body collapsed against it until I fell to the ground. I stayed sitting there watching.

It was three against one and they were not fighting to kill. The guardians moved with practiced precision. They wrestled with her until they got her into a chair. They wrapped themselves around her then, holding down her arms and legs until she was immobilized. 

That’s when I noticed Lissa and Mark standing in the doorway. Mark led Lissa forward until they were standing in front of Sonya. He was tensed, a stake in his hand, the other on her arm, ready to get her out if anything happened. 

Lissa looked towards me, hunched against the wall. I smiled at her encouragingly. She turned back to Ms. Karp and raised the stake. She took a deep breath, I could feel the magic wheeling up inside her. As she released the breath she brought her arms down, plunging the stake into Sonya Karp’s heart.


	12. Chapter 12

The seconds seemed to stretch into eternities. It was like everyone in the room was holding their breath. I could feel Lissa pouring Spirit through the stake. Conjuring every happy memory and good feeling she could. She pushed harder than she had ever before, with maybe the exception of bringing me back from the dead. But that had been something born of desperation and grief where this was calculated and purposeful. She knew about her magic now and wanted to help, to do good with it.

I watched as Sonya stopped struggling. Then a yellowish-white glow erupted from the stake blowing back the guardians until it was just Lissa and Sonya together. There was a warm breeze through the room and a blinding flash of light. It felt like how Spirit felt, like the warmth and light Lissa pictured when she used her magic.

After what felt like hours but was probably only seconds Lissa pulled the stake out and slumped to the floor exhausted. Sonya for her part made no move to stop her or attack her so that might mean something. Lissa didn’t seem to be scared in any way. And there had been a feeling of finality when she pulled the stake out, like something had worked. Either Ms. Karp was dead and gone or she was moroi again.

I seemed to be the first to recover my composure and crawled my way across the room to them. My body was not ready for standing or walking yet. My head was still spinning from being slammed against the wall and blood loss and Lissa’s exhaustion was pouring into me. 

I dragged myself across the room to where they were huddled. I cradled Lissa against me and looked at Sonya who had slumped in her chair without the guardians holding her up. She looked at us with big blue eyes, watching uncomprehendingly. But there was no ring of red or bloodlust that had been present a few minutes ago.

“Sonya,” I whispered. Her eyes snapped to me and she stared for a second before she started crying. 

Big heaving sobs that wracked her body. Both Lissa and I reached out for her, pulling her down to the floor and into our little weird hug. Lissa whispered calming things into her hair. I could feel her protectiveness over Ms. Karp that bled into me. She was fragile and we had to protect her now. 

I looked up from Lissa and Sonya. I watched as the other guardians gathered around us, they seemed to have accepted that it had worked because both me and Lissa were now holding a now-no-longer strigoi. 

I made eye contact with Dimitri, he looked torn. Like he wants to rip us apart and make sure Ms. Karp is no longer strigoi, but he sees us sitting together, curled into one another, broken. I nod at him, try to reassure him that it’s okay. That the impossible happened. Sonya Karp is no longer strigoi. 

We stayed like that huddled on the ground together as the guardians checked the rest of the house. I could hear them talking quietly to each other as they walked around, categorizing things. During that time we manage to coax Sonya onto the couch, both of us staying next to her on either side. 

She had mostly stopped crying and was now sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest, staring blankly at the wall. The spirit users were let in and all rushed around Lissa, making sure she was alright and congratulating her. 

Oksana came over to me and placed her hand on my shoulder. I could feel her healing me, the ringing in my ears went away and my head stopped pounding. I smiled up at her gratefully. She leaned down and kissed me on the forehead like she had done to Lissa before. 

“Happy to have you back with us dear.” She said.

“Thanks.”

The guardians having finished their sweep of the house came and stood before me. They looked worried but proud. I grinned up at them.

“Eddie do you have Alberta’s phone number?” I asked, looking at him.

“Uhh, I think so. Why?”

“Cause last I heard Mikhail was working at St. Vlad’s and he would want to hear about this.”

Eddie huffed a laugh. “Yeah, and Court will definitely want to know.” 

“God Hans is going to have a field day.” Isla chimed in, talking about the head guardian at Court. 

“Forget Hans the council is going to be all over this,” Luke said.

“How do you all fancy a trip to America cause I don’t think you’ll get a choice,” Eddie said turning to Dimitri and Mark, who had mostly been standing back watching our discussion.

I was pulled out of the conversation by someone pulling on my sleeve. I looked over and saw Sonya looking at me with wide eyes.

“Can we go outside? I want to see the garden.” She whispered.

“Yeah of course we can go come on.” 

I helped her up and led everyone out to the backyard. I mostly supported her weight and Lissa held her hand as we walked outside. I pulled back the curtain over the door and sunlight shone through. For a second I could feel her tense but then she relaxed into it. She turned her head up towards the sun and smiled ever so slightly. 

Sonya took off with Lissa through her garden, she sat them down in a patch of grass and lay back looking at all the colours and flowers. She didn’t seem happy and still looked very out of it but she seemed content and to be returning to herself. 

I was pulled aside by Dimitri, everyone else went out to revel in the garden we stayed on the porch watching. He stared out at the garden as he spoke.

“Are you okay?”

“Of course I’m okay comrade, why wouldn’t I be.”

“Because you were the captive of a strigoi for two days.”

“You know, she wasn’t that bad.”

There was a pause, we were standing shoulder to shoulder watching everyone sit in the sun. The guardians were discussing something amongst themselves, Mark and Oksana were sitting together hand in hand, the Spirit users were also huddled together, then finally Sonya and Lissa were next to each other, Lissa seemed to be saying something to Sonya and was stroking her hair. 

“I guess I’m not as great a guardian as you thought,” I said keeping my eyes focused on Lissa and Sonya. I could see Dimitri turn to look at me out of the corner of my eye.

“Why would you say that?”

“Because I got bested by a couple of new strigoi and let myself get taken and then was captured for two days without escaping.” 

“Even the best guardians can fall.” I wanted to laugh at the thought of someone like him, the god among men, falling. “If anything it’s my fault.”

It was my turn to look at him.

“If I had gotten out sooner to help you maybe you wouldn’t have been taken.”

I shrugged, it wasn’t anyone’s fault, simply how the fight happened.

“You kept them safe. That’s what matters.”

I nodded once to myself before turning back to face everyone before I did something stupid like kiss him. After a few moments of silence, I spoke up again.

“You know Eddie’s right, we’re all going to have to go back to Court.” Dimitri sighed then laughed a little.

“Well, Ivan hasn’t been back to see his family in a while.”

“God we really did something here.” I could see him nod next to me.

“We changed everything.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has read this story. We may be a small and dying fandom but I am so grateful for all the comments and everyone who got excited about this story. Hope everyone has a better 2021 than this past year.


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